Change at the top is needed for the Bears

Chicago Bears fans are frustrated at the awful product they’ve been putting on the field for the better part of three decades.

They’ve missed the playoffs 23 out of the last 30 years, but more importantly, the Bears have had seven different head coaches and seven different people in a general manager type of role since 1991.

The one constant during this time has been the McCaskey family.

George McCaskey has been the team’s Chairman since 2001, and before that he was the team’s ticket office director from 1991 to 2010. I’m sure being around the Bears for his entire life has led to him picking up some knowledge about the game, but he doesn’t really have a football background.

The McCaskey family owns the team, so having a McCaskey as Chairman is a given, but I would think having a smart football mind as Team President would be critical for the product on the field.

The Bears have had Ted Phillips as Team President and CEO since 1999, but he has an accounting background.

Phillips may be a smart business man, and he may have had a hand in the Bears being valued at 3.5 billion dollars, but if he had a clue about the game of football there would have been no need to hire a consultant in 2014 to find a new general manager.

Phillips was directly involved when the Bears hired both general managers Jerry Angelo in 2001 and Phil Emery in 2012, but in 2014 the Bears decided they needed a new voice in the room when making the GM hire.

Ernie Accorsi consulted McCaskey and Phillips into hiring Pace as the team’s GM in 2014, and then they kept Accorsi around to consult on the hiring of head coach John Fox, but why does a competent franchise need a consultant to make football decisions?

If George McCaskey doesn’t feel he’s qualified enough to make a general manager hire, and if he’s not confident in the decisions coming form his team president either, then it’s time for him to step back and hire a president that can run the franchise.

With six straight losses it seems the Bears are close to making a change at both head coach and general manager, so why not go for the trifecta and bring in a new team president to oversee the entire football side of the franchise?

If the Bears truly want to keep Phillips around then make up a new title for him, or move him to finance or operations, because keeping the status quo is a horrible public relations decision from the McCaskey family.

Phillips needs to go.

Pace needs to go.

Head coach Matt Nagy needs to go.

Find someone to give the keys of the franchise to, much like the Chicago Cubs did with Theo Epstein, and let him hire the next general manager. The new team president will then work with his new GM to hire the next head coach.

It may take a gigantic contract to lure a great football mind to Chicago to be the team president, but remember that $3.5 billion number?

The Bears can afford it.